Listen to this. The V10 era of Formula 1 produced the best engines the world has ever seen. They are raw, powerful, revvy and (in my opinion) the best-sounding engines ever. But how on earth did they make them able to reach over 19 THOUSAND RPM? And why are they not in the current Formula One cars? British former racing driver and YouTube personality Scott Mansell explains in the video below.
The V10 era started in 1986 with the 3.5-litre unit built by Alfa Romeo – but really started finding success in 1989 with Renault. At the time, the engine regulations were pretty free, with one key rule keeping them in check. The overall engine capacity could not be more than 3.5 litres, and turbos were banned.
So with the rules being free, the engine manufacturers each landed on pretty different designs. With V8s, V10s and V12s all on the grid. And at one point, they even had a W12 (but it kinda sucked, never actually qualifying for a race). Ford, at the time, swore by a V8 for its simplicity and relative fuel economy. Whereas Ferrari stuck to a V12, with complexity and cost not really being an issue for them, they aimed at maximum power. (And you can see why they chose those by looking at their road cars at the time)
Renault were the first to really make waves with the V10 – where they started to create significantly more power than the V8s and the V10s. But why? They were all 3.5 litre, naturally aspirated engines? And how were they able to create more power?
—- see video above —
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